


After the End

by sarai377



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Almost Platonic, Angst, Dark, M/M, Possession
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-11
Updated: 2016-08-11
Packaged: 2018-08-08 04:08:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7742791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarai377/pseuds/sarai377
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone thinks that Robin defeated Grima during the final battle, but Robin is starting to realize the truth - that Grima lingers on in his mind, and is starting to take over. Based off a possession AU idea. </p>
<p>Almost-platonic mChrobin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	After the End

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by my friend Zet, who comes up with the best AU ideas. :)

The darkness pools around him in the garden, leaking down the bench he perches on. As he runs his fingers from beveled edge to beveled edge over and over again, the rough stone catches against his calluses, created from long hours practicing with steel and magic.

The sky has brightened to the pale blush of dawn, but the courtyard is shadowed still. 

This dawn makes three weeks and two days since Robin rid the world of Grima. 

_Is that what they all think?_

Robin squeezes his eyes shut, grinds his jaw, but he can't keep that voice from snaking through his mind. 

_That their dear friend, the great and powerful tactician--_

_Stop it_ , Robin thinks.  _Stop it!_ But the voice continues, drowning out his protests.

\-- _has vanquished ME?_ The voice chuckles. The resonance echoes with the many tongues of the damned, as if they are forced to laugh along with him, desperate and despairing.  _What will they think if they discover that you kept my essence alive, drawing it into yourself?_

He doesn’t want to think about it, but scenes flash through his head anyway. Lucina avoiding him in the hallways, not out of guilt, but out of disgust. Chrom slamming his hands on the long wooden Council table, blue eyes a mix of dark anger and cloying pain.

Robin still isn’t sure how it happened, but something went wrong when he tried to kill his other self. His blade swung true, but the true Avatar disappeared with a terrible smile. Robin’s sword cleaved through empty clothing and a bit of mist.

Maybe it would be better if he told someone. But the misery he would cause to the Shepherds, to his best friend… he isn’t ready for that.

Grima laughs, full-throated and dangerous, his voice seeping into everything that Robin once called his. It poisons those few happy memories he cherishes, leaving him overwhelmingly numb.

Robin is clawing at his forehead when the laughter ends. Uneasily, he smooths his bangs down, sticking to his sweaty forehead. It feels a little thicker than sweat, this time. 

_I didn't ask for this_ , Robin thinks. He never wanted to be worshipped as the man who defeated Grima. He just wanted to be there, at Chrom's side, to protect his closest friend's family. To give up his life for a bigger cause, to make it mean something.   
He never wanted this. 

_I know, Robin_. The voice is soothing, and Robin is reminded of the way Chrom eases Lucina's nightmares. The phantom hand inside of him pets with razor-sharp claws. _I know how much you fought to kill me, knowing it would kill you as well._

And now, he is stuck here, sharing this body with the demon he was supposed to kill. 

Robin keeps his head down, refusing to look as dawn breaks. It's another dawn he had never expected to see. Borrowed, stolen time. 

He should be happy that this is what remains. That he is still alive, and every new day should be a gift. 

Finally he forces himself to look. The peach-colored sky bathes the castle above him in light. It blurs, unexpectedly, like a painting slashed with water.

"Robin?"

Robin spins, nearly falling from the bench. His hand grips the edge, holding on for more than just balance.

Robin forces a smile from behind the tight ball of emotion in his throat. He doesn’t need to see to know who that voice belongs to.

"You look terrible," Chrom says, and comes over to sit heavily on the bench beside Robin. Robin probably does look as bad as Chrom proclaims. He's still wearing that tattered old robe, not allowing anyone to take it from him to darn it, to patch up the burned holes and the frayed edges. Chrom, on the other hand, is dressed in attire suitable for an Exalt, regal and proud and a little bit extravagant.

His blue eyes sharpen and crystallize as Robin meets his gaze. “Can’t sleep?”

Robin shrugs, and then looks away. Even in sleep he can’t escape the gloating, confident voice, the memories of another time and place.

Chrom sighs, and Robin looks back. His brow is pinched beneath the crown as he studies Robin. "What is the matter with you? We won, but you keep walking around here like we didn't. You survived - we all did."

Except those who perished in that terrible last fight. But Chrom doesn't mention them, and Robin won't bring it up. 

Robin runs his fingers along the stone again, and it's light enough now that he can see darkened fingerprints scraped along the seat.

Chrom continues, "Robin, talk to me. Tell me what's troubling you. I'm here for you. You're like the brother I've never had… and I want you to be happy."

Robin doesn't want to make Chrom worry for him. That was never his intention. He opens his mouth to speak. 

Nothing comes out. He blinks, finding the exact words he wants to say, picking them from his mind. He goes to speak again... And he can't.

Something is frantic in his chest now, but he holds himself still. He doesn't understand, at first. 

Then that terrible laugh comes. 

Grima is doing this. Robin closes his hand into a fist. 

_That's right_ , Grima gloats. _It's me. Let me out, Robin, just for a little while. I promise I'll give it back. Otherwise_ , and the voice grows heavier, gloom coating the words with darkness - _I'll pluck every sense from you one by one. How would you like to never feel Chrom's embrace again? To never see the others dance and hear them laugh... To never hold Lucina in your arms like a proud uncle... or even to tell everyone what they mean to you._

Grima knows his every desire. Unwillingly, Robin thinks about the pile of letters he left in his trunk before that final battle, and how he had burned them when he came back. All the words singe his tongue now, unspoken. Grima is going to take everything, and there's very little Robin can do about it. 

He won’t let Grima take over. Robin has seen through those horrible memories what will happen if he lets Grima out. A new history will be forged, but the same deaths will come, one by one. And Chrom will be first.

"Robin?" Chrom asks, leaning in. He sets a hand on Robin's shoulder. "What is it?"

It is at that point, staring into those trusting, caring eyes, that Robin realizes two things.

The first is that Chrom can never find out what Grima is doing to Robin. This secret, Robin's mistake, will hurt Chrom. Chrom hadn't wanted Robin to land the killing blow. He'd been so hurt and panicked when Robin had done it. The phantom grip of Chrom's hands on his arms haunts him, there in the squeeze of Robin's shoulder, in the deep shadows of Chrom's face. 

The second thing he knows is that if Grima can take control of Robin's body like this, sense by sense, then the last words he may ever speak to Chrom... were not the words he wanted to say. The words he burned. 

_I love you, Chrom_. 

The darkness gathers in Robin's eyes, and he leans into Chrom's shoulder. For a brief moment, he feels Chrom's bare hand caress his wet cheek. And then that, too, is gone, faded into mocking laughter.

**Author's Note:**

> This was my interpretation of the concept that Grima gradually takes over Robin's senses and body, one thing at a time, eventually breaking him so that Grima can take over. It's a dark idea but I tend to like writing dark things... (Also, I was trying so hard to write platonic Chrobin but I can't, apparently. So have some unrequited love instead....)
> 
> For the past few months I have been blocked on pretty much all fanfic, but its starting to coming back around. I'm hoping to get back into my existing fanfic projects soon. For now, I hope you enjoyed this little bit of angst. Thank you for reading!


End file.
